Training
Preparing today's sellers
for tomorrow's audio landscape propels the radio medium forward
The RAB Professional Development programs enhance the professionalism of thousands of radio salespeople and managers through a variety of platforms: in-person training, online training/certification, state association and station group events, live webinars,
and now, new seller assessments.
Online Training
& Accreditation
The RAB provides six online training programs that offer certification upon successful completion:
1. Radio Marketing Professional – Fundamentals
2. Certified Radio Marketing Consultant – Advanced
3. Certified Digital Marketing Consultant – Digital
4. Certified Integrated Marketing Consultant
5. Certified Radio Sales Manager – Sales Management
6. Certified Professional Commercial Copywriter
This year we have updated both the RMP and CDMC courses, and we will be refreshing/updating the other courses in 2019. Our updates include moving to a new platform that is non-flash based. This will allow us to respond more quickly to changes and updates as we can update single modules as needed.
In-Person Training
In-person training is a combination of open sessions for Sales Essentials and certification as a Certified Radio Sales Manager (CRSM), and participation at state broadcast conventions and individual company events. In 2018 Sales Essentials and Sales Manager Certification sessions were conducted in Dallas and Philadelphia. Additional Sales Essentials classes were also conducted in Las Vegas, Albany, New York, and Bloomington, Illinois. The RAB participated in Broadcast Association conventions in Louisiana, Alabama, Tennessee, and Ontario, Canada. We led station group training in Kansas City, Nashville, Minneapolis, Sacramento and Saskatchewan, Canada. Plus, we also presented at the NABOB -- Atlanta University Consortium's Media Sales Institute.
In 2018 we conducted half the number of Sales Essentials and CRSM courses as we did the previous year. We had 120 people in attendance, including a new record of 45 attendees for our Sales Essentials class in Bloomington, Illinois. For 2019 we have selected Phoenix, Chicago and Tampa as the locations for our Sales Essentials and CRSM in-person training.
Rising Through the Ranks
The RAB’s annual Rising Through the Ranks women’s management program continues as one of the RAB’s most popular in-person training sessions. Promoting the value of equal opportunities in radio, this year’s workshop graduated 30 talented radio professionals. The 2018 session was conducted in partnership with BMI and Mentoring and Inspiring Women in Radio.
Webinars
The RAB offers monthly webinars on topics of interest to our members, plus special webinars on research and time-sensitive issues. Members can purchase these on a month-to-month basis. We also continued our management-focused webinars every other month in 2018. We also offer a discount to those who buy an annual plan that includes all 12 webinars. In 2018, 33 groups purchased our seller webinar series which is identical to the number of groups that purchased in 2017. Our Management webinars saw a 70% increase in the number of annual subscribers – growing from 13 in 2017 to 22 in 2018. On our seller webinars, we average 3.4 people per connection. Our 2019 schedule is published on RAB.com under the Training Tab. Special thanks to our Sales Advisory Committee and Local Market Committee for input on this year’s topics, as well as RAB member input.
Visit Matter of Fact
Team RAB
Meet RAB's Professional Development Team. Click Play below.
This year the RAB Professional Development Team has some new faces. We welcomed Kim Johnson to the Director of Sales position, and we welcomed Georgia Beasley as Manager of Professional Development. Both have acclimated very well to the RAB and are already making significant contributions and improvements to the content and services we provide to our members.